Celebration marks day of independence for Colombians

STOCKTON - Elaborate and colorful costumes, dancing and an array of Latin American dishes are expected at the downtown Stockton Colombian Independence Day festival Sunday.

Jennie Rodriguez

STOCKTON - Elaborate and colorful costumes, dancing and an array of Latin American dishes are expected at the downtown Stockton Colombian Independence Day festival Sunday.

July 20 marks the day Colombia declared its independence from Spanish rule in 1810.

"We are very happy that almost 200 years have passed since Colombia became independent," said Father Alvaro Araque of St. Gertrude's Church in Stockton. The fifth annual event, expected to draw about 2,000 people, is organized by St. Gertrude's Church and a group of local Colombian nationals dubbed Nos Une Colombia (Colombia Unites Us).

It's a cultural celebration that promotes joy and dance, Araque said, because in Colombian culture, "if there's no dancing, there's no festival." So, the gathering will feature dance competitions in cumbia, salsa and mapale.

As is Colombian custom, the winning female of the mapale dance contest will be crowned La Reyna del Mapale (The Queen of Mapale). Mapale is a type of fish caught in Colombia. Convulsion-like movements of the dance mimic the fish's jerking once pulled out of the water. The genre, which resembles African dancing, was inspired by African slaves who were brought to Colombia by Spanish colonizers.

"The dance is very rapid and difficult to do," Araque said.

But there's one event christened Colombia's top tradition: El Carnaval de Barranquilla, an annual four-day carnival of dance in the city of Barranquilla. Although the Mardi Gras-type festival takes place before Lent, the smaller Stockton version is held later in the year and is meant only to showcase Colombia's way of life.

"The carnival is perhaps Colombia's most joyous festivity. It is a beautiful, historical and colorful event only comparable in Central and South America to the Carnaval de Rio de Janeiro," said Griselda Pinto Sensibaugh, president of Nos Une Colombia.

The bash also is a time for demonstrating support for peace in Colombia, a country still plagued by intermittent insurgent terrorism attacks and organized crime, said Araque, a Colombia native.

Festivalgoers are invited to take part in a patriotic ceremony in which those participating will toast, wave white cloths representing peace and sing the country's national anthem.

"We are very content to celebrate this day as the possibility of peace in Colombia draws closer," Araque said.